Mugabe seeks to extend 33-year rule

July 6 - Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe launches his re-election campaign in a bid to extend his three-decade grip on power. Tom Dinham reports.

▲ Hide Transcript

▶ View Transcript

Veteran ruler Robert Mugabe is given an enthusiastic reception by supporters of his ruling ZANU-PF party as he arrives at his election campaign launch in Harare.
The 89-year-old Zimbabwe president is running on a platform of increasing black ownership of the economy under the slogan a 'fight of our life'.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) ZIMBABWEAN PRESIDENT, ROBERT MUGABE, SAYING:
"Wage a real, real forceful, vigourous, devastating fight, and this one should be a fight of our lives."
The election, due on July 31, is already being criticised as poorly planned, underfunded and plagued with irregularities.
The main opposition to Mugabe comes from Morgan Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change.
They accuse ZANU-PF of making it hard for MDC supporters to register to vote - a charge Mugabe's party denies.
Critics have also accused Mugabe of ruining one of Africa's most promising economies during his tenure.
Despite this, surveys over the past year have given Mugabe a narrow lead over Tsvangirai.